Hypertext Webster Gateway: "ladies"

From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)

Lady \La"dy\, n.; pl. {Ladies}. [OE. ladi, l[ae]fdi, AS.
hl?fdige, hl?fdie; AS. hl[=a]f loaf + a root of uncertain
origin, possibly akin to E. dairy. See {Loaf}, and cf.
{Lord}.]
1. A woman who looks after the domestic affairs of a family;
a mistress; the female head of a household.

Agar, the handmaiden of Sara, whence comest thou,
and whither goest thou? The which answered, Fro the
face of Sara my lady. --Wyclif (Gen.
xvi. 8.).

2. A woman having proprietary rights or authority; mistress;
-- a feminine correlative of lord. ``Lord or lady of high
degree.'' --Lowell.

Of all these bounds, even from this line to this, .
. . We make thee lady. --Shak.

3. A woman to whom the particular homage of a knight was
paid; a woman to whom one is devoted or bound; a
sweetheart.

The soldier here his wasted store supplies, And
takes new valor from his lady's eyes. --Waller.

4. A woman of social distinction or position. In England, a
title prefixed to the name of any woman whose husband is
not of lower rank than a baron, or whose father was a
nobleman not lower than an earl. The wife of a baronet or
knight has the title of Lady by courtesy, but not by
right.

5. A woman of refined or gentle manners; a well-bred woman;
-- the feminine correlative of gentleman.

6. A wife; -- not now in approved usage. --Goldsmith.

7. (Zo["o]l.) The triturating apparatus in the stomach of a
lobster; -- so called from a fancied resemblance to a
seated female figure. It consists of calcareous plates.

{Ladies' man}, a man who affects the society of ladies.

{Lady altar}, an altar in a lady chapel. --Shipley.

{Lady chapel}, a chapel dedicated to the Virgin Mary.

{Lady court}, the court of a lady of the manor.

{Lady court}, the court of a lady of the manor.

{Lady crab} (Zo["o]l.), a handsomely spotted swimming crab
({Platyonichus ocellatus}) very common on the sandy shores
of the Atlantic coast of the United States.

{Lady fern}. (Bot.) See {Female fern}, under {Female}, and
Illust. of {Fern}.

{Lady in waiting}, a lady of the queen's household, appointed
to wait upon or attend the queen.

{Lady Mass}, a Mass said in honor of the Virgin Mary.
--Shipley.

{Lady of the manor}, a lady having jurisdiction of a manor;
also, the wife of a manor lord.

{Lady's maid}, a maidservant who dresses and waits upon a
lady. --Thackeray.

{Our Lady}, the Virgin Mary.


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